An artsy and stylish crowd, including Hope Atherton, Terence Koh, and Hanneli Mustaparta, invaded Chelsea for Jeremy Laing's Fall show, and the designer showed clothes to match. The Toronto native had decided to be "more honest" with himself, fusing his love for Japanese design (particularly the work of Yohji Yamamoto) with his passion for poetry and art. The result? A collection with a sensuous, post-goth minimalism that was less intimidating than last season's, and completely wearable. For the first time, the focus shifted from dresses and jumpsuits to layered, tailored separates, like the knit molded-shoulder sweatshirt and zip-back vest in bleach print velvet.

Laing managed to work in his signature architectural flare, but this time took a more malleable approach. Long kelp cotton and antique leather overcoats and shift dresses were done with full back zippers, transforming into capes and tunics when layered over leather leggings or pants in denim velvet (a new fabric for Fall). Laing creatively incorporated chain detailing to mimic Edwardian dandies, whom he imagined never left home without their pocket watches. And although last season's digital prints were nowhere to be found, subtractive bleach-stained designs, such as the "black lilies" pattern on an easy-to-wear wool and linen dress with leather sleeves, were dispersed throughout the collection.